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Bust out your planners, calendars, and PDAs (if you are throwback like that), it’s time to mark your calendars for the HMNS events of this week!

Get into the holiday spirit with the Jingle Tree events at HMNS Sugar Land, learn more about the museum travel trip the – “Shelling Experience”, and armor up for the opening of our special exhibit Samurai: The Way of the Warrior!

Jingle Tree – Open House and Strolling LuncheonHMNS Sugar LandNovember 1811:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Come to our Jingle Tree Strolling Luncheon to mix and mingle as you enjoy food from Events by Safari and bid on your favorite trees in this exclusive first look! Click here for tickets.

Travel Night – Sansibel Shelling, April 2015Tuesday, November 186:00 p.m.Interested travelers and those already registered are invited to this evening’s presentation of the April 12 – 16, 2015 HMNS trip “Shelling Experience: The Islands of Sanibel, Captiva and Coya Costa” with trip leader Tina Petway and HMNS travel department staff. On this coastal adventure with Tina Petway, HMNS associate curator of malacology, you will comb the beaches of the best shelling grounds in the continental US. You will also experience diverse marine and wildlife of this threatened ecosystem. Trip itinerary and registration information available at Class – Travel Night – Sansibel Shelling, April 2015Interested travelers and those already registered are invited to this evening’s presentation of the April 12 – 16, 2015 HMNS trip “Shelling Experience: The Islands of Sanibel, Captiva and Coya Costa” with trip leader Tina Petway and HMNS travel department staff. On this coastal adventure with Tina Petway, HMNS associate curator of malacology, you will comb the beaches of the best shelling grounds in the continental US. You will also experience diverse marine and wildlife of this threatened ecosystem. Trip itinerary and registration information available at www.hmns.org/travel.

Catalyst Event – Samurai: The Way of the WarriorThursday, November 20 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.Complimentary drinks, light bites, entertainment and admission to Samurai: The Way of the Warrior. Click here for tickets.

Special Exhibit Opening – Samurai: The Way of the WarriorFriday, November 21The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to host Samurai: The Way of the Warrior, an exhibit of exquisite objects related to these legendary warriors. Among these are full suits of armor, helmets, swords, sword-hilts, and saddles, as well as exquisite objects intended for more personal use such as lacquered writing boxes, incense trays and foldable chairs. Click here for tickets. Organized by Contemporanea Progetti SLR with the Museo Stibbert, Florence, Italy. Local support is provided by Kuraray.

Samurai: The Way Of The Warrior Members’ EventFriday, November 216:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.Children’s crafts, cash bar and light refreshments available at this Members’ event. Click here to register.

Jingle Tree – Cookies with Santa HMNS Sugar LandSaturday, November 2211:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Bring the kiddos out for Cookies with Santa while you take advantage of the final day to bid on our Jingle Trees! Final Chance to Bid. Click here for tickets.

Today we saw dozens of very photogenic zebras. This got David and me talking: What came first, the zebra or the stripes?

There are plenty of theories as to why the zebra has stripes – some more fantastical than others.

According to one African tale, the zebra was once pure white. One very hot day, the zebra went down to a watering hole to drink, but the watering hole was being guarded by a baboon bully who didn’t want to share. The zebra and the baboon got into a fight over the water and during the course of the fight, the zebra backed into the baboon’s fire and tripped. The hot branches left black scorch marks on the zebra’s hide.

While that tale, and others like it, are certainly fun to hear, they aren’t terribly scientific. So what says science?

One popular theory posited is that the stripes act as camouflage, but zebras graze in the open in relatively short grass. The stripes aren’t really making them blend into much of anything.

Another theory is that the stripes make it harder for a predator to pick out an individual from the group. Scientists originally believed that the stripes, when viewed at a distance, would simulate heat waves. Thus, that close-up would be confusing, because all the zebras would blend together. In reality, lions are the main predators of zebras and they generally hunt at night. A zebra’s stripes would, in fact, make them more distinct and visible in the moonlight.

The flip side of this theory says that the stripes help zebras recognize individuals in the larger group. This is actually supported by research, which shows that captive zebras prefer standing next to a patterned wall rather than a solid colored wall, but not 100 percent understood.

A relatively new theory that seems to have some merit is that the zebra’s stripes make excellent fly repellant. Cattle (and zebra too) are more susceptible to illness caused by the tsetse fly, which bite as a reaction to movement and dark colors. In fact, the tsetse fly prefers to bite through dark clothing even when a light, bare arm is available.

To test this theory, one study looked at horsefly bites on horses. They set up five “targets” for the horseflies — one black, one white, one grey, one with horizontal stripes and one with vertical stripes. The great target and the target with the vertical stripes had the least number of bites.

Why? The horsefly, like most insects with compound eyes (including the tsetse fly) has the ability to see polarized light. This improves their ability to see solid and dark colors, allows them to “see” heat signatures and enables them to track moving objects (especially dark ones). Because of these specially adapted eyes, the zebras’ stripes would make them disorienting to the horsefly. The stripes, hypothetically, break up the shape of the zebra and make it harder for the fly to focus in to bite.

While this all sounds great in theory, scientists haven’t conducted these same tests on actual zebras in Africa, but they are pretty positive the results would be the same.

The safari, which literally means “journey” or “voyage,” began when Europeans traveled into Sub-Saharan Africa. They came to observe and record the flora and fauna of Africa, but the tales of the unusual animals brought other travelers — those in search of adventure and danger. Originally when one went on safari, one went to hunt the Big Five: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and Cape buffalo, ranked not by their size but by their difficulty to hunt on foot.

The modern iteration of the safari still has shooting, but now it is from behind the lens of a camera rather than down the barrel of a gun.

While Dave is excited to see and shoot the Big Five with his camera, I am more excited to see the “little” Big Five, as I am calling it. These are some of the biggest, baddest invertebrates on the African continent. Though they are (relatively) small, they can be fierce!

Siafu, also known as Driver or Army Ants, can live in colonies of up to 20 million individuals. When there is a food shortage, the ants will leave their hill and form marching columns of up to 50 million ants, traveling at about 70 feet an hour and destroying everything in their path. While they can be dangerous if an animal comes in contact with these traveling columns, they also perform an important service: pest control. The ants literally drive (hence the name) all other animals, pests and people alike, away from their homes.

Another weird fact: These ants have incredibly strong jaws. In fact, you can break off their bodies and leave the head without the ant releasing its hold, so they are often used as a natural emergency suture which will hold for days.

Over 15 inches long and 2.5 inches around, the Giant African Millipede is one of the biggest and most recognizable invertebrates around. Despite its name, millipedes don’t really have a thousand feet. They actually have around 256 feet (four legs per body segment multiplied by 64 segments on average = invertebrate math). In general, millipedes can make excellent pets but many species come with a slightly unusual side effect: when irritated, they secrete a cyanide-based compound. To humans, the secretions are only mildly problematic, usually resulting in discoloration or mild irritation of the affected skin. However, these same secretions can burn the eyes or exoskeletons of ants and other predators. In the case of the Giant African Millipede, their secretions taste and smell really bad and so it makes them unappetizing to predators.

Another weird fact: Millipedes have a symbiotic relationship (try finding that as an option for your Facebook status) with tiny species-specific mites living on them. The mites keep the millipedes clean and tidy and the millipedes give the mites snacks and a place to live.

All right. At 1.5 to 2 inches, these guys aren’t that big — but they are that awesome. Their superpower? Their camouflage. Ghost mantises are excellent little mimics. Living in dry areas on bushes and shrubs, the ghost mantis looks to all the world like a brown, dried leaf — even going so far as to rock back and forth slowly so they look more like a leaf blowing in the wind. As vicious little predators, their incredible camouflage helps them ambush unsuspecting prey with their spiked, raptorial forelegs.

Another weird fact: The closest living relatives to the mantid family are termites and cockroaches, both in the order Blattodea. All three had a common ancestor but developed independently.

Just like the name suggests, this big bug looks to all the world to be a branch from the tree in which it hides. Stick insects are part of the Phasmid order, which comes from the Greek word “apparition.” They are aptly named as they can seem to appear from nowhere due to their ability to blend in. Although herbivorous, stick insects aren’t defenseless. Some species have spines on their legs, while others can spray irritating liquids at attackers. Yet others will regurgitate a nasty substance that will put a bad taste in a hungry predator’s mouth or reflex bleed, oozing a foul-smelling hemolymph from joints in their body. The giant walking sticks in Tanzania will average around a foot in length, but there is a species in Borneo that has been recorded at an incredible 22 inches.

Another weird fact: Some stick insect species can reproduce parthenogenetically (that’s a fancy word that means “without males”). A captive female stick insect can produce hundreds of all-female offspring without ever mating. In fact, there are some species of stick insects for which scientists have found no male specimens.

I love beetles and not only do they have cool beetles in Tanzania, they have two species of one of my favorite beetles: the Goliath. These big, bad beetles can grow up to 4.5 inches long and 3.5 ounces in weight — about the same size, weight and shape of a box of regular, powdered Jell-O. Incredibly strong for their size, these burly bugs can lift up to 850 times their own body weight. For the average 200 pound man, that’s the equivalent of lifting 77 tons!

Boxes of Jell-O. In case you weren’t sure what those looked like.

Another weird fact: Beetles comprise the largest order of insects, Coleoptera, with 350,000 to 400,000 named species. This makes up 40 percent of all known insects and 30 percent of all known animals.

You know what’s even cooler? Scientists estimate that there could be 750,000 to 4,000,000 species of beetle that haven’t been named or discovered yet!

While I can’t be certain that I will get to see any of these critters in the wild on our trip, I am certainly hopeful that I will be able to return with photographic evidence of our encounters! Check back with Dave and I in early December and we will share some of our best photos from the trip.

It’s your final chance to get in on the trip of a lifetime (or at least the next several years) to Australia and New Zealand.

The only total solar eclipse of the year is viewable on land only from the northeastern coast of Australia. The Museum has secured hotel space in Cairns for the rare eclipse and planned a trip around the voyage with an optional extension to Fiji.

Led by Dr. Carolyn Sumners, HMNS’ VP of Astronomy, the two-week tour of the South Pacific includes Cairns and Sydney, Australia as well as Christchurch and Queenstown, New Zealand and an ideal eclipse viewing spot on the coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef.